This is the email I hate sending out. The email to update us on closing things up....sigh...

But
what a year it's been! Some of you had your first races, some your
first medals and some your first Head of the Charles rowing bow seat in a
double with a partner who doesn't speak English! From the opening dock
day, this year had a feeling of being special and it was. The weather
in October was the best in recent history - Lots of flat water and
warmer temps to prepare us for the challenges that we faced each
weekend. We were well prepared by our coaches - Greer & Matt - and
judging by the smiles at Head of the Charles, I'm not sure we could have
rowed any better. Congratulations to EVERYONE!!!!! And that's
regardless if you rowed in any race. There were members that just
aren't into racing but were there to help make sure those who wanted to
race were prepared. I'm proud to be a member of this club!!!!

Dock Day -

The last Dock Day of 2013 is upon us and will be this Saturday from 9am - Noon.
We will be moving hulls from Somerville to Malden - this will require 2
trips. We will also need to pull the white launch out of the water and
clean up the boathouse. It looks like we will not be painting oars
this weekend - I haven't had a chance to get the paint but we will put
the collars on the new oars and hang them on the racks. They'll be
ready for use in 2014!!!!

Erg Rentals -

As
I mentioned, we are renting the ergs out again this year. If you are
interested, please go to Regatta Central and you can sign up there to
rent them. We have 15 ergs that we are renting out and it's a great way
to stay in shape over the winter. The cost is $150 for the winter and
you can either pay that via credit card on Regatta Central or via check,
but you will need to reserve one on Regatta Central. The exact return
date is TBD but early March is when we'll need the back for the start of
the youth rowing season. And renting an erg is a great way to prepare
for the CRASH-B's!

Winter Training -

A
number of you have asked about organized winter training. We're
working on it and will inform you as soon as we have a plan. We're
looking at setting up workouts at St. Ann's as well as days/times where
the club can do the stairs at Harvard Stadium and such. The training
you do now will make you better for 2014. It's also important to take
some time off to refocus for next year. As soon as we have the plan, we
will let you know.

Flatbread -

THANK
YOU!!!! I don't have the final totals yet, but it looks like the
benefit night did very well. The folks at Flatbread informed me that
they haven't been this busy for a benefit night in a long time. We
really made them work. One of their employees told me how tired his
arms were from making pizzas! You got the word out and people
responded. There was a constant flow of take out orders and folks
eating in. Thanks again for spreading the news and making last night a
success!!!!

Race Fees -

I
will be sending out an update on race fees before dock day. If you owe
race fees, please bring a check with you to dock day. I will send an
email out with the spreadsheet of who owes what to those who owe money.

December Row -

Yes, we will be doing the December Row. The date for this is December 7th.
What are we doing? We're putting boats on the water so we can say we
rowed in December! We'll need some volunteers to cox. More information
on this will follow.

Facebook & Twitter -

In case you didn't know, we are on Facebook and Twitter....here's how you can find us on both...

Facebook
- Search for "Gentle Giant Rowing Club" A lot of information is posted
here for events and other rowing related information. We will be
switching this to a Fan Page this winter.

Twitter - our handle is gentlegiantrc. Follow us.

Social Events -

A
few folks have asked about getting together in the winter to have a
night together with your teammates. So we'll be doing that. Fred &
Judith will once again be hosting a party in December. There was a
request for a GGRC night out bowling so we'll pick a date for that. We
also had a request for a pot luck as well and we'll set that up. We'll
keep you informed.

Rowing in France -

One
of the evening rowers took part in a rowing rally in France. Basically
rowing about 26ish miles a day down canals. I'm going to contact the
organization running it for more details and I will keep the club
informed on what I find out. Here's the link to the rally. http://atppr.free.fr/Page%20anglais.html It sounded and looks like a lot of fun and how cool would it be to see GGRC Uni's rowing down canals in France???

That's
it for now. Take the time to rest a bit and then start back up with
the training! Get up 15 minutes early and do some core work. Get out
there and run, erg, or bike. Anything you do now will help make you
faster in 2014!!!!!

Thank you again for being you. It's because of you that I'm proud to be a part of GGRC!!!!